Evaporative coolers use the principle of heat absorption by water evaporation to cool outside air and deliver the cooled air to an enclosed space to be cooled. In a known basic evaporative cooler of this kind, the evaporative medium is supported on the intake side of a cabinet. The evaporative medium is a partially open absorbent material which is wetted with water from a recirculating pump mounted in a water catch basin below the medium. The blower moves dry hot outside air through the opening of the wetted evaporative medium, causing evaporation of the water and cooling of the air. The cooled air is directed into the space to be cooled. The cooling efficiency of the evaporative cooler is directly related to the evaporative efficiency of the medium and is also related to the even dispersion of water to the medium.
The patent to Sexton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,031, describes an evaporative cooler water distribution system. The water distributed is deflected by a U-shaped channel and falls downwardly. U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,712, to Sperr, Jr. shows a similar structure having an arcuate cross-section in which the water is deflected downwardly by a curved surface. Bohanon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,180, shows a structure in which water is sprayed upwardly to impinge on a box-shaped deflector. The patent to Oplatka, U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,256, shows water being sprayed downwardly onto a vertical wall and impinging on a patterned splash plate to cover the wall with water. Blatter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,781, also describes water distributed over a terraced surface. Goettl U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,410, describes an evaporative cooler system in which the water flows downwardly.